I was going to post in the other thread, but I missed the cutoff by a couple of hours.

I've got a couple of annoying problems with my attempts at weight loss, and they pertain to my current weight/body composition. I'm 5' 10" and weigh between 408-419lbs, I'm not sure where and that's one of my problems:

1. Where the hell can I find a scale that goes beyond 330lbs? Most scales these days only go to 300, I think I saw one that went to 350, but that still won't help. I don't want to be going to the doctor's office every week just to keep track of my weight loss, and my gym only has the old-fashioned balance scales that go up to 350.

I had a body composition test done at my gym a couple of weeks ago, they sub-contract with a company to do them so I was able to find out that I was 408 at that time. However despite my sedentary life style I am saddled with problem number two:

2. I have 270lbs of lean muscle mass. I know it takes a lot to exchange fat for muscle, but my god, I'm never going to get under 320 lbs (18.5% body fat with 270lbs of lean muscle mass), no matter what I do, am I? Even if I just lost the weight without gaining any muscle mass, I'd still be "underweight" while being "obese". that's just depressing, you know?

I'm going to kick off my dieting (trying for 100lbs in a year) on April 20th (420lbs on 4/20 how, symbolic) and see how well I can do. Of course, I need to find a scale first.

Originally posted by ZundianWhere the hell can I find a scale that goes beyond 330lbs?

One time I was at a Weight Watchers meeting, and they were weighing a seriously big guy by having him stand on two scales until the numbers were the same on each and then they added them. You could try that. No idea if it's actually, y'know, accurate or anything, but it should give you a general idea if you're losing or gaining or staying the same until such time as you can use a single scale.

Originally posted by ZundianEven if I just lost the weight without gaining any muscle mass, I'd still be "underweight" while being "obese". that's just depressing, you know?

I asked my doctor what my goal weight was, and he said he didn't give a damn. Weight itself means very little. He was mostly concerned with my waist size - there are lots of healthy people who weigh a lot - they just happen to have lots of muscle.

Originally posted by ZundianI'm going to kick off my dieting (trying for 100lbs in a year) on April 20th?

Good luck! 100 lbs in a year is a lot, but I'm living proof it can be done. Just try to stay focused on the goal - it helps greatly to have a target in sight.

Tanita HD351 (The W at Amazon) is what I used since it went up to 440lbs (which I was approaching before wls) and is a damn fine scale, but expensive (tho not as expensive as having to go to Weight Watchers once a week or paying for the YMCA which were the only scales with the capacity to weigh me then).

Not sure if my link will give the W credit if you purchase it there but hopefully someone better at it than me will link it in that way. { Done! - CRZ }

Good luck with the weight loss. Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint with hopefully only a few pit stops along the way and you should do fine.

(edited by CRZ on 19.4.07 2308)It is a good rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them. P. G. Wodehouse (1881 - 1975), The Man Upstairs (1914)

I know I sound like a broken record but you need to get to a doctor and one working in your area. Period. Weight Watchers is okay but a registered dietician specializing in people with your problem is needed.

Originally posted by Zundian2. I have 270lbs of lean muscle mass. I know it takes a lot to exchange fat for muscle, but my god, I'm never going to get under 320 lbs (18.5% body fat with 270lbs of lean muscle mass), no matter what I do, am I? Even if I just lost the weight without gaining any muscle mass, I'd still be "underweight" while being "obese". that's just depressing, you know?

Point of order #1: You mean "Lean Body Mass", which includes bones, blood & all that other stuff -- everything other than the "adipose tissue", right?

Point of order #2: Did they do the "dunk tank" method to get the percentage, or one of the other methods?

Now...Dude! When you get to rockin' 15-18% body fat, you are not obese! By definition. Period. If your goal is to be a male runway model, or your ideal body image is Spike Dudley or Brian Kendrick -- well, get over it. :-) Is Batista "obese"? I think not, but he certainly does have a substantial quantity of lean body mass!

I say shoot for 325, with the understanding that at 340 you'll do a really good body mass re-assessment, see where you are, & replan from there.

Will you ever get under 320? (Given that we've just established that doesn't actually matter -- it's just a number...) Maybe so, maybe not. Since you are (seem to be) starting with a lot of muscle, you may actually drop some muscle mass in conjunction with losing fat -- once you're not carrying around so much extra weight all the time, some of your muscles don't need to work as hard all the time. As your body adapts to having less fat, your body may (probably will) decide it needs less total blood volume, & you'll probably drop some additional water. Some of that kind of stuff. So, you'll reassess when you get closer.

Sent this info to Lexus via PM. My advice is kind of radical and out-of-the-box and I try to insulate myself from being seen as a lunatic, heh. But this is what the research that I've done indicates.

I know this sounds kind of radical, but I wouldn't use weights if I were you. Like, at all. Weights compromise flexibility and endurance. In addition to this, the traditional training philosophy of today talks about training muscle groups "in isolation". That's all wrong, since your body works as a unit. Exercise that incorporates numerous muscle groups is therefore hormonally and functionally the best route. SO...

^That is a what's sometimes called a "hindu pushup". It looks Yoga-like, but I assure you it's not just something to firm up flabby soccer moms. This is a hardcore exercise which many people your size might not even be able to do, even WITH a lot of muscle mass that you apparently have. I've personally seen many bodybuilders fail to do more than ten of these in a row, so they're a motherfucker. Do it as best you can, because bro believe me, when you're able to do 100 of those in a row without stopping, you will be in the best shape of your life. Fat will melt off you, and you'll get stronger (but not bigger, this will be functional muscle, not fakey body-builder counterfeit mass).

^This is a hindu-squat. This will absolutely rock your legs. It will also get your heart pounding, which eliminates the need for "cardio". That's another radical belief I want to impart. Being on a bike, moving relatively slowly, is not actually the best path. You need to speed up your metabolism. But we're animals. What animal runs at a medium pace for half an hour without stopping? It wouldn't help a predator catch prey and it wouldn't help prey escape a predator. Sprinting is what animals do. Look at an Olmpic sprinter versus and Olympic marathoner. One looks muscular and healthy, the other looks near death. Emulate the one you'd prefer to look like. If you can find some stairs, try sprinting up them, after consulting a physician of course. You may even just want to walk up them briskly to begin.

http://www.combatconditioning.com/images/vacuum.jpg^This is a stomach flattening exercise. It's hard to see the whole thing, but basically inhale deeply as you can, you suck in your gut as much as it'll go, and then exhale slowly, keeping your abs tensed. This exercise will shrink your waistline as fast as anything. You can spot reduce, no matter what you've heard, and this exercise has been known to drastically improve digestion.

I think the core of these four exercises will probably give you better, faster, and longer-lasting results than anything which has been pitched to you so far. Obviously this would be along with an "eat if it grows" diet, consisting of animal meat, fruits and veggies, but cutting out bread and pasta and grain products as well as your obvious metabolic polluters, like candy, cookies, ice cream, chocolate, and chips. Lexus' beer advice is also sound.

I hope it doesn't sound too crazy, man, but this is the best stuff on Earth in my opinion, and every last one of these exercises is a few hundred years old. As I told Lexus, I commend your goal of self-improvement, and I genuinely hope I've been of some help.

EDIT: I just brought up Hindu pushups to my girlfriend who's in a physical therapy doctorate program at the moment. She says she's read from several sources that you shouldn't do more than 10 or so of them at a time. As good of a multi body part workout as they are, the rotation stress they put on your shoulders is something to avoid unless you've got a lot of confidence in the strength and flexibility of your joints. She says it'd be good to start off doing regular pushups and then adding one or two Hindu versions at a time, being careful to not proceed to quickly, to test your shoulders and ease yourself into it.

(edited by samoflange on 22.4.07 1555)Ken Kennedy debuted a new finisher: Jeff Hardy fans will insist on calling it the Swanton Bomb, but it looks WAY more devastating when not performed by a 180-pound fruitcake.-Rick Scaia 06.12.2006

Originally posted by WhitebaconI think I only count three exercises there

Only three have pics, but there's four, including the sprints.

And samoflange (what the fuck is a samoflange?:D) is right. Definitely wanna ease into them, though I would also say you are far, far less likely to get injured doing hindu pushups beyond your capability than lifting weights.

Ah, sprints, it's been so long since I've done those that I might need a .gif for that as well. And stairs at that, my football team thought I'd died the one time we went down the street to Bulldog Stadium to do those. Those hindu squats look like a motherfucker though, and actually perfect for me since I don't have the range of motion in my left shoulder to do regular weighted squats anymore (hence the fear in doing the Hindu pushups. I might stick to regular ones for awhile first.